Mad Men, Inked: Chinese Wall

At last, there's that Don Draper backslide we've all been waiting for. As he's finally (finally!) become a better person, at least on the face of it, we see how easily he's drawn back into old patterns. His attempts to curtail his drinking function both literally and metaphorically; whisky is not the only thing he's addicted to.

And what's the other thing? Cheap, no-frills sex? Before this season, that would have been an adequate explanation, but now I think that oversimplifies the matter. Don himself expressed how he had never failed to sell 'himself' to his clients. More and more, it seems like the core desire driving Don Draper is to feel like a man, and in her calculated adoration, Megan fulfilled him in that respect. (I say calculated because everything she said was just a little bit too canned, too perfect. In fact, she was, in many ways, the mirror image of Jane Sterling back when she was on the prowl.)

Peggy, on the hand, sure feels like a woman. And that feeling is driving her happily through her personal and her professional life, both of which she seems to have firm control over (at least for now), unlike every other character. And as a result, men are drawn to her like moths to a flame, to bask in if not steal away some of that energy (Harry most directly tries to lessen it, failing to praise her successful pitch and instead insulting her makeup).

I wish I had more to say about the Roger-Joan business, which others seem to revel in, but frankly, emo-Roger is boring and pathetic. But we did get to see an uncharacteristically harsh Bert Cooper in response to Roger's failure.

Predictions for next week:

Peggy's stellar rise comes crashing down due to one of her own actions.

We see Don return to his old married ways, which is to say, man about town.